DIN rails are standard metal pressings used for mounting industrial control equipment, such as connectors, switches, machine controllers, and circuit breakers. They come in various standardised shapes and can be cut to a desired length in accordance with the environment in which they will be installed. A DIN rail may be attached to a ceiling, or inside a cabinet, for example, so that electrical components may be attached, hung or suspended therefrom. Alternatively, a DIN rail may extend along a wall, again, so that electrical equipment may be attached thereto.
In order to mount a component to the DIN rail, a locking mechanism must generally be used. Various locking mechanisms exist, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,674,129 B1. However, such mechanisms have the tendency to be overly complicated and burdensome. As a result, they can be prone to faults and can be difficult to install, and it may take a significant amount of time to attach/detach them from a DIN rail.
There is therefore a need in the art to provide a simpler and more economical device for locking to a DIN rail. The present invention seeks to address this and other deficiencies encountered in the prior art.